MLB Pitcher Became College’s AD
Jim Konstanty To Join
Hartwick’s Athletic Hall
ONEONTA – Jim Konstanty, the Major League player from Oneonta who returned home to serve as Hartwick College’s director of athletic in 1967-72, will be inducted into the college’s athletic Hall of Fame Friday, Sept. 20.
Other honorees will be men’s soccer player Art Napolitano ’78, water polo goalkeeper Jess Dorman ’11, men’s basketball forward Jared Suderley ’14, and women’s basketball guard Maria Foglia ’14.
The ceremony in Shineman Chapel House will begin 6 p.m. Dinner is $50 for adults; $10 for children.
Konstanty, who also operated Konstanty’s sporting goods store for decades in Oneonta’s downtown, will be inducted posthumously.
A former MLB pitcher, he brought in some of the most successful coaches in Hartwick Athletics history, including:
• Al Miller (Men’s Soccer, 1967-72; 64 wins; 4 NCAA Tournaments)
• Dr. Roy Chipman (Men’s Basketball, 1968-77; 166 wins; 7 NCAA Tournaments)
• Nick Lambros (Men’s Basketball, 1977-98; 353 wins; 7 NCAA Tournaments).
In an 11-year professional baseball career, Konstanty posted a 66-48 record with 74 saves and a 3.46 ERA in 433 games pitching for the Cincinnati Reds (1944), Boston Braves (1946), Philadelphia Phillies (1948-54), New York Yankees (1954-56), and St. Louis Cardinals (1956).
His most successful season came in 1950, when he helped the Phillies to the National League pennant while garnering National League MVP honors.
Konstanty appeared in 74 games (then an MLB record) with a 16-7 mark and an NL-leading 22 saves. He made the NL All-Star team and received the AP Athlete of the Year and the TSN Pitcher of the Year awards.
He also started Game One of the 1950 World Series against the New York Yankees, where he allowed just four hits in eight innings.
Retired, Konstanty lived in Worcester, while running his sporting goods store for close to 40 years. He passed away in 1976.
His namesake son, a prominent local lawyer and Otsego county attorney, died in 2015. His daughter, Helen Rees, still resides in the city.
Art Napolitano ’78 was a key component on four NCAA Tournament teams, which included a pair of 3rd-place finishes in 1974 and 1976 and the NCAA Division I title in 1977. Napolitano tied for the team lead in goals scored (9) and he ranked second in points (20) in his senior season. He paced the Warriors in scoring during their NCAA run, netting a pair of goals in a 5-1 opening round win over St. Francis and another in a 4-1 victory over Brown in the national semifinals. His biggest goal came early in the second half of the NCAA Championship game to give his team a 1-0 lead over San Francisco in an eventual 2-1 victory over the Dons. He closed out his career with 26 career goals and seven assists for 59 points in a Hartwick uniform. Napolitano was named a Soccer America 2nd Team All-American and he was a finalist for the Hermann Trophy. He was the fourth overall pick in the 1978 North American Soccer League Draft by the Houston Hurricanes. He also played for the American Soccer League’s Pennsylvania Stoners and the Major Indoor Soccer League’s Pittsburgh Spirit, Hartford Hellions, and Philadelphia Fever in his professional career.
Jess Dorman ’11 is arguably the most dominant goalkeeper in the history of the Hartwick water polo program. The four-time CWPA Scholar Athlete was a CWPA Eastern Championships All-Star three times and the 2008 Rookie of the Year. She was twice selected to the CWPA First Team (2008, 2011), was a CWPA Northern Division All-Star twice, and was a four-time conference Player of the Week. In 2011, she was named team Most Valuable Player, the Hartwick College Anna Meyer Female Athlete of the Year, and an Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) Honorable Mention All-American. Dorman graduated as the program’s record holder for goalkeeper saves in a career (1,430), most saves in a season (410), most goalkeeper assists in a career (119), and most goalkeeper assists in a game (5). She also ranked 2nd, 4th, and 8th in season saves and 10th in career assists. Dorman helped the Hawks to 107 victories in her four years with the program for an average of 26.8 wins per season, two CWPA North titles, and two CWPA Eastern runners-up finishes.
Jared Suderley ’14 is the most prolific scorer and rebounder in the history of Hartwick men’s basketball. He is the only player at ’Wick to amass 2,000 points (2,034) and 900 rebounds (920). Suderley was named an All-American by a pair of organizations in both his sophomore and senior seasons while helping the Hawks to 70 wins, three NCAA Tournaments, and two Empire 8 Championships in his four campaigns. In his first season, Suderley was tapped the D3hoops.com All-East Region, the ECAC Upstate, and the Empire 8 Rookie of the Year. He was named the Empire 8 Player of the Year in his sophomore campaign while garnering D3hoops.com and National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) all-region, ECAC Upstate, and Empire 8 First Team honors. He helped the Hawks to their second straight NCAA Tournament appearance and a tie for a College-record 23 victories. At the close of the season both D3hoops.com and the NABC selected him to their All-America Second Team. He returned the Hawks to the national tournament with an Empire 8 title in his senior season with repeat awards for Empire 8 Player of the Year and first team honors, as well as D3hoops.com All-East Region First Team, NABC East Region First Team, and ECAC Upstate First Team honors. He added an E8 Tournament MVP, was invited to the Reese’s Division III All-Star Game, and was a finalist for the Josten’s Trophy, given to the best player in the nation. He landed on the D3hoops.com All-America First Team and the NABC All-America Third Team to close out his storied career.
Maria Foglia ’14 was the spearhead of an impressive class of Hawks that won 66 games in three years to go along with two NCAA Tournament berths, an ECAC Metro title, and three Empire 8 playoff appearances. After earning Empire 8 Second Team honors as a freshman, Foglia helped the Hawks to 22 victories and an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament, the program’s first appearance in 13 years. She was selected to the ECAC Upstate and Empire 8 First Team for her efforts. Twenty-two more victories followed in Foglia’s junior year, which included the Hawks’ first ECAC Championship in program history. She was selected as the Empire 8 Player of the Year, the ECAC Metro Tournament Most Outstanding Player, and was named to the D3hoops.com All-East Region and Empire 8 First Team. Foglia led Hartwick back to the NCAA Tournament in 2014. She finished with 23 points and was a huge factor down the stretch in regulation and in overtime in a come-from-behind victory over Baruch in the opening round at Lambros Arena. It would mark the program’s first tournament win since 1991. Foglia was named to the Empire 8 First Team for the third straight season and she was tapped a Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Honorable Mention All-American. The three-time Team MVP and two-time Hartwick Female Athlete of the Year graduated as the program record holder for career free throws made (476) and free throws made in a season (155). She also ranked fourth in scoring (1,540) and second in three-pointers made (162).